The typical searcher uses DeepL for text and document translation and now needs more than a translation engine: a translation memory, a project workflow, a website translation layer or a tool that fits a software release cycle. They move to another per-user translator, to a translation management system, or to a platform that translates a website or an app's strings.
Short answer: The closest replacements for DeepL in our translation ranking are Systran, Smartcat and BookTranslator. Choose Systran if you want a like-for-like per-user translator with an Office add-in and a model you can customise. All 12 alternatives below are ranked products from Best Translation Software in 2026, and each says where it differs from DeepL.
Vendors can pay for visibility on this site; it never changes what we say
about a product. How that works.
Pricing: Per user per month, published; API billed by characters
Established in: Germany
Built for: A company replacing staff use of free web translators with licensed accounts
Not for: A team that needs review workflows and supplier management
01
Why buyers look past DeepL
01
The engine is excellent, the workflow around it is thin
DeepL's plans give you text, file translation, glossaries and style rule lists. A translation memory only appears on the Business plan (EUR 49.99 per user per month, billed annually) and on Enterprise. A team that needs review stages, project assignment and a memory shared with freelancers starts looking at a translation management system.
02
Volume and files are metered per plan
Individual covers 300,000 characters and 3 file translations per month, Team 1,000,000 characters per user and 20 file translations, Business 100 file translations. A department that translates long documents in bulk reaches those caps and moves up a plan, which is a per-seat step, or looks for a tool priced per word or per string.
03
A translator is not a localisation platform
DeepL translates content that you paste, upload or send through its API. It does not by itself sync with a code repository, keep strings in context for a developer or publish a translated website. Those jobs belong to the localisation platforms and website translation tools on this page.
Per month by linguistic credits and hosted characters, unlimited seats, published
Localisation platform with unlimited seats and monthly AI credits
you want a small, credit-based localisation tool with every colleague able to log in
#13
03
What each one does differently
1
Systran
France · Per user per month, published; server installs quoted
The most direct comparison: a per-user machine translation subscription for text and files (Pro Plus $18.99 per user per month on annual commitment, $25.99 monthly; Pro Premium $34.99 or $49.99). It lists 55 languages, an Office 365 add-in and, on Premium, TMS connectors and Model Studio. Plans are capped at 20 or 50 users.
Switch from DeepL if you want a like-for-like per-user translator with an Office add-in and a model you can customise.
United States · Annual plans by tier, published; larger tiers quoted
Sold as AI coworkers for content translation, priced annually: Adapt from $1,200 per year with unlimited users, Accelerate from $24,000 and Anticipate from $60,000. Accelerate adds marketplace access to human experts. It is far above DeepL's per-seat prices and meant for managed programmes, not occasional translation.
Switch from DeepL if you want AI translation with human experts and review workflows in one managed programme.
United States · Free plan with credit-based pay-as-you-go from $3.99/task; Pro plans from $20/month billed annually
Pay per book instead of a subscription: Basic around $6.99 and Pro around $9.99 per 100,000 words, with a minimum price from $6.99 and a 7-day money-back guarantee. It translates whole books and long documents. It has no team features, glossary management or integrations.
Switch from DeepL if you translate a book or long manuscript occasionally and do not want a monthly plan.
France · Free plan up to 2,000 words and one language; paid plans per month by translated words and languages, published
Translates a website instead of documents. Free up to 2,000 words and one language, Starter at EUR 15 per month (10,000 words, one translated language) and Business at EUR 29, with annual prices cheaper. It is metered by translated words and languages and does not cover documents or software strings.
Switch from DeepL if the content to translate is a website and you want it published without copying text around.
Czechia · Team plan published; Strings seats, words, machine translation and AI units metered separately
Suite for localisation teams. The Team plan is $1,245 per month billed annually with unlimited TMS seats and 20 Strings seats; Freelancer is $27 per month. Capacity is metered in managed words, processed words and machine translation units. Professional translation can be ordered from $0.06 per word.
Switch from DeepL if your team manages both documents and software strings and wants a full TMS with seats for everyone.
Hungary · Per licence, published for entry tiers; larger TMS plans quoted
Translation environment and TMS with no volume-based pricing. The memoQ TMS Starter plan is EUR 2,750 per year with 1 project manager licence and 5 linguist subscriptions; Essential, Professional and Enterprise are quoted. Machine translation plugins connect an engine, so memoQ complements a translator more than replaces it.
Switch from DeepL if you work with professional translators or agencies and need translation memory and term bases.
United States · Per month by tier, published; enterprise quoted
Aimed at software localisation, with published monthly tiers: Explorer $149, Growth $379 and Advanced $1,049, plus a quoted Enterprise plan. Each has a 14-day trial. The price follows the team's workflow needs, not characters translated, and it is not designed for translating Word files for individuals.
Switch from DeepL if product and engineering teams own the translation of an app and need it tied to their release process.
Estonia · Free tier; paid plans published, metered by hosted words and managers
Localisation platform whose usage is measured in hosted words (words multiplied by target languages). Crowdin lists a 14-day Team trial, two months free on annual billing, a free licence for open-source projects and academic programmes, and annual-only Enterprise. Machine translation is an add-on service.
Switch from DeepL if you run a community or open-source translation project, or want a hosted-word model.
Czechia · Free to self-host under GPL; hosted plans per month, published
Free software under GPL-3.0 from Weblate s.r.o. in Czechia. Self-hosting is free; hosted plans start at EUR 39 per month and are priced by number of strings, with a 14-day trial. It is repository-centred and built for software, so it lacks DeepL's document translation.
Switch from DeepL if you want a translation platform you can run on your own servers, with no licence fee.
Czechia · Free to self-host up to 10 seats; free cloud plan; paid cloud plans published, metered by hosted words
Open-source localisation platform that can be self-hosted free, or used as a cloud service with unlimited seats. Cloud tiers shown are Translate at EUR 58, Optimise at EUR 133 and Manage at EUR 373 per month billed annually, each with 400,000 machine translation credits. Enterprise is quoted. Aimed at developers, not general documents.
Switch from DeepL if developers want in-context translation of a web app with an open-source option.
Czechia · Free plan up to 200 source keys; paid plans per month by managed source keys, unlimited seats, published
Priced by managed source keys, with unlimited seats, projects, words and languages, and a 14-day trial. Subscriptions include credits for machine translation; the vendor states its AI costs about $0.005 per word on average. It manages strings in apps and websites and does not translate stand-alone documents.
Switch from DeepL if you localise apps and want to pay by number of source strings, not by user.
Austria · Per month by linguistic credits and hosted characters, unlimited seats, published
Plans are metered by linguistic credits and have unlimited seats: Starter EUR 45 per month (100k credits, about 15k words), Team EUR 115 (500k credits) and Pro EUR 345 (1 million). Glossary, style guide and translation memory are on every plan. A small localisation tool, not a general document translator.
Switch from DeepL if you want a small, credit-based localisation tool with every colleague able to log in.
DeepL remains the right choice when the job is translating text and documents for people, quality of the output is the priority and the volumes fit a per-user plan. Individual starts at EUR 7.49 per month billed annually, there is a 30-day free trial, and Team adds SSO and shared style rules without the overhead of a localisation platform. Moving to a TMS is justified when you need translation memory, reviewer workflows or a connection to code, not simply because another tool also offers machine translation.
05
What moving off DeepL involves
01
Take your glossaries and style rules with you
Glossaries and style rule lists are the part of a DeepL setup that took effort to build. Export them before you cancel and check what the new tool accepts, since most use a CSV or TBX style format and treat formality or tone settings differently.
02
Keep the engine if the platform allows it
Several alternatives on this page connect machine translation engines through plugins or credits. You may be able to keep DeepL's output through the API while adding a translation memory and workflow around it. DeepL also offers a free API plan, which makes that arrangement cheap to test.
06
Questions about replacing DeepL
6 answers
What does DeepL cost?
On the vendor's German pricing page: Individual EUR 7.49 per month billed annually, Team EUR 24.99 per user per month, Business EUR 49.99 per user per month, and Enterprise on request.
Individual and Team have a free 30-day trial, and annual billing saves 16%. The API is billed separately.
Which alternative is closest to DeepL?
Systran, which sells per-user machine translation plans for text and files with an Office 365 add-in. The remaining alternatives are translation management systems or website and app localisation tools, which do different jobs.
Is there a free or open-source alternative?
Weblate is free software under GPL-3.0 and free to self-host. Tolgee can be self-hosted free and Crowdin offers a free licence to open-source projects. Weglot has a free plan limited to 2,000 words and one language. None of these is a general document translator.
Which alternative translates a website?
Weglot, which prices by translated words and languages. Localazy, Lokalise, Crowdin and Phrase are aimed at software strings and teams.
Do I need a translation management system?
Only if you need translation memory shared across a team, review steps with freelancers or agencies, or a link to a code repository. DeepL's Business plan includes a translation memory, which may be enough for a small in-house team.
Where is DeepL based?
DeepL's privacy policy lists DeepL SE and DeepL AI GmbH at Maarweg 165, Cologne, Germany, alongside group companies in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Poland.
—
Sources
Checked 8 October 2026
DeepL plans and pricing: Individual, Team, Business and Enterprise plans, prices, character and file limits, 30-day trial, translation memory on Business.
DeepL privacy policy: DeepL SE and DeepL AI GmbH, Cologne, Germany, group entities.
